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Khalilzad welcomes Guiterres’ move to appoint Turkish envoy as Afghanistan coordinator
Former US special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad on Wednesday welcomed the UN secretary general’s move to appoint a special coordinator on Afghanistan affairs and said the upcoming meeting in Doha must produce a road map for engagement with Kabul – a step that “will define the ambassador’s mission”.
In a series of tweets on Wednesday Khalilzad described Feridun Sinirlioglu as an “excellent choice” for the position and said the “ambassador has two great attributes: vast experience and good judgment.”
Khalilzad stated that “3 other steps are needed.” According to him, the meeting scheduled for May 1, which will be hosted by UN chief Antonio Guterres, “must produce a road map for international engagement with Afghanistan. Such a step will define the ambassador’s mission.”
He reiterated his previous suggestions and said: “As I have stated many times, the best option is for the implementation of the still open steps in the Doha Agreement. It would be important that Ambassador Sirilinirlioglu attend this meeting.”
He also suggested a meeting with the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) during the Doha gathering “to determine their commitment to full and complete implementation of the Doha agreement.”
The May 1 meeting aims to drum up international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on the situation in Afghanistan.
Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said recently that “the Secretary-General has said and continues to believe that it’s an urgent priority to advance an approach based on pragmatism and principles, combined with strategic patience, and to identify parameters for creative, flexible, principled, and constructive engagement.
“It is his aim that the discussions, which will be held behind closed doors, can contribute to a more unified consensus regarding the challenges ahead,” Dujarric said.
The IEA has however revisited the issue of Afghanistan’s seat at the UN and repeated their call last week for the seat to be handed over to the IEA’s designated representative.
“Without a doubt, this is an injustice to the people of Afghanistan. A great nation in this region should have its place in the United Nations, and in all discussions about Afghanistan, there should be the real representative of the people of Afghanistan, which is currently the Islamic Emirate,” Bilal Karimi, deputy spokesman of IEA, said.
He said that putting pressure on the IEA will not work and it will rather undermine the credibility of the foreign community.
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Khalilzad warns Pakistan-Afghanistan tensions likely to worsen after fresh airstrikes
Former U.S. special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad has warned that the latest Pakistani airstrikes in Afghanistan and recent violence inside Pakistan are part of a wider crisis, saying he sees no indication that the situation is about to change.
In a post on X on Thursday, Khalilzad described the Pakistani airstrikes that have killed Afghan civilians and the increasing use of force against civilians in Pakistan as “interconnected tragedies,” implying both effected by Pakistan’s establishment.
“Unfortunately, I do not see any signs of change,” Khalilzad said, adding that current indicators suggested the use of force against Pakistanis would “likely get worse” in the coming days.
His comments came after Pakistan carried out a new wave of airstrikes inside Afghanistan overnight Thursday, saying it had targeted 10 locations used to launch and store drones.
Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said the strikes were conducted in response to drones launched from Afghan territory a day earlier and described them as “deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate.”
Afghan officials said the strikes killed four civilians. The attacks reportedly hit locations including Kandahar, Khost and Paktia provinces. Afghanistan’s Islamic Emirate authorities have denied launching the drones cited by Pakistan and have condemned the strikes.
The latest attacks follow Pakistani airstrikes earlier this week in Kunar and Paktika. Pakistan said those operations killed 28 militants, while the United Nations confirmed that three Afghan civilians — a man, a woman and a girl — were killed, with four others injured.
The renewed airstrikes come amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of allowing militant groups, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), to operate from its territory and launch attacks inside Pakistan.
Afghan authorities reject the allegations and say militancy inside Pakistan is an internal issue.
Khalilzad has previously called for a change in Pakistan’s strategy toward both its internal security problems and Afghanistan.
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Afghanistan summons Pakistani chargé d’affaires over latest airstrikes
Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires to Kabul and lodged a strong protest against the violation of Afghan airspace and Pakistani military airstrikes on several Afghan provinces.
The ministry handed the Pakistani diplomat a formal protest note following the attacks on Kandahar, Paktia and Khost provinces on Wednesday night, which reportedly caused civilian casualties.
The Islamic Emirate strongly condemned the strikes, calling them a violation of Afghanistan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and contrary to Islamic, international, humanitarian and good-neighborly principles.
The ministry also rejected what it called baseless claims that Afghan territory was being used as a source of Pakistan’s recent security incidents.
It said using such claims to justify military action was an attempt to distort facts, mislead public opinion and conceal Pakistan’s internal failures.
The Islamic Emirate further accused Pakistan’s military leadership of avoiding commitments made to regional countries and warned that such actions could further escalate tensions in the region.
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Museum dedicated to preserving ‘Jihadi’ artefacts opens in Kandahar
The museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.
A museum dedicated to preserving what Afghan authorities describe as “Jihadi artefacts” has officially opened in Kandahar, with officials saying more than 100 items have so far been collected for display.
Mufti Mohammad Tahir Ahmad, Director General for the Preservation of Jihadi Artefacts at the Ministry of Information and Culture, attended the inauguration ceremony alongside Qari Ahmadullah Saeed Khosti, Director of Registration for Jihadi Artefacts and Documents.
Mufti Inamullah Samangani, head of the Kandahar Information and Culture Department, and officials from several government departments also attended the ceremony.
According to the official responsible for preserving the artefacts in Kandahar, the museum’s collection includes more than 100 items gathered from different locations.
The collection includes weapons that officials say were captured from British, Soviet and US forces, as well as personal belongings and other items associated with people killed during Afghanistan’s conflicts over the past two decades.
Officials said efforts to collect additional artefacts would continue in order to expand the museum’s collection.
The museum is now open to visitors, according to the officials.
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